Domestic Mass Destruction as Biden Spends Billions on War – The “Key Bridge”

Originally published Mar. 29, 2024 by TraderStef on CrushTheStreet (updated)

For those seeking prognostications based on circumstantial evidence of how or why the Francis Scott Key (FSK) Bridge in Maryland was destroyed, it will not be found here today. I will offer my personal connection surrounding its historical significance and a brief summation of the consequences thrust upon the region’s residents and the national supply chain that is unfolding.

I was raised along the mid-Atlantic coast where an honorable and hard-won battle ended a widely forgotten United States Second War of Independence from 1812-1814. The U.S. declared war on England due to continual provocations by the King of England to reimpose tyranny and the instigation of several disputes over “free trade and sailors’ rights.” In 1813, British forces traveled north into the Chesapeake Bay and began a campaign of terror directed at coastal population centers. In Aug. 1814, American forces suffered a humiliating loss in the Battle of Bladensburg, and British forces went on to raze and burn down the Washington, D.C. capitol.

The Burning of Washington, D.C. – Battlefields.org

In Sep. 1814, 5,000 British Redcoats landed northeast of Baltimore and were held back by American patriots and their hurriedly built bulwark. The British navy sailed up the Patapsco River waterway with the intention of entering Baltimore’s Inner Harbor to support ground troops on the northern flank. Standing in their way were 1,000 defenders at the Fort McHenry garrison, which is only a short distance beyond where the FSK Bridge crossed the Patapsco. Local merchants sank their private watercrafts into the channel at a great personal expense to help keep the enemy’s warships at a distance and discourage troop landings along the shoreline. On Sep. 13, the British navy resorted to firing bombs and rockets for 25 hours into the garrison but failed to destroy it or its troops. The British military was forced to withdraw completely from the region in defeat.

The FSK Bridge spans the gateway into Baltimore’s commercial ports and harbor where Fort McHenry and the U.S. garrison flag survived bombardment. Maryland lawyer Francis Scott Key penned “the dawn’s early light, the flag [Ft. McHenry’s] was still there” in a poem he initially named “Defence of Fort McHenry,” which became “The Star-Spangled Banner” after being set to music. President Herbert Hoover deemed that song the U.S. national anthem in 1931, and FSK was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

The Making of the American Flag: 1814 – Fort McHenry

The bridge is called the Key Bridge by locals in the region since its construction was complete and opened for traffic in Mar. 1977. It is more than 8,500 feet (1.2 miles) long, and the center height that allowed the passage of commercial shipping was 1,200 feet above sea level. According to the National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA), it was one of the longest continuous truss bridges in the world in 1977.

The Key Bridge is cherished by the region’s population, and I have fond memories with family, neighbors, and friends from our yearly day trips to the waterfront surrounding Ft. McHenry and watching the annual display of memorial fireworks. Growing up in a blue-collar military family was the norm in my neighborhood, and commemorating the location’s place in U.S. history on Flag Day (Defender’s Day) and participating in the annual memorial festivities that included dozens of historic tall ships visiting the harbor was not taken for granted or missed. The media has been flooded with stories and analyses about the bridge’s destruction on Mar. 26 and who should pay for its reconstruction.

Oh Say Can You See?… In America’s ongoing death-of-a-thousand-cuts, that one literally severed a major artery, but it may take a while to know how badly the wounded colossus known as the USA is bleeding out. ‘Joe Biden’ emerged from his crypt pronto to state that the federal government would pony-up the cost of building the bridge back better, meant to reassure the public, you’d suppose. But perhaps the real reason was to obviate an otherwise requisite investigation of the crash by ship-owner Grace Ocean’s insurance company — since legal wrangling over responsibility would add more years to the already years-long estimated bridge replacement time-frame. And Gawd knows what else they might discover about how the darn thing came to pass.” – James Howard Kunstler, Mar. 29

Maryland Can Rebuild w/Biden’s $7bln 2021 Infrastructure Handout – Fox Business, Mar. 28

A must-read is a brief personal story from a 16-year-old union worker (still alive) who labored below sea level in the Patapsco River at the base of cofferdams where massive “pours” for the FSK Bridge’s foundation and pillars were built. He was paid $5.50 per hour when the minimum was only $1.50. Here is an excerpt:

“We were out in the middle of the river. We were brought to the barge on work boats, and lowered down into the bottom of the river bed in a ‘man basket.’ We jack hammered the bed rock to make about 100 holes in a pattern, put dynamite into them, covered it all with a giant steel mesh blanket, (lowered by the crane), then we got far away… When all the rocks and boulders were out, we did the jack hammering again. We’d have to change the jackhammer drill bits for longer ones as we went down. 2′, 4′, 6′. That was heavy work. It took several men to lift the jackhammers out of the holes with the long bits on them.” – Matt Bracken, Mar. 28

The Port of Baltimore handles more cars and farm equipment than any other port in the U.S. and the impact on inflation, supply chains, and employment issues will be extensive. Here’s an excerpt from Martin Armstrong, a link garden to a selection of articles since Mar. 26, and a short video presentation by a former merchant mariner with his initial reaction to the catastrophe.

Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse – Black Swan Event… “Let me begin by explaining how crucial the Francis Scott Key Bridge was to America’s supply chain. Around 52.3 million tons of international cargo estimated to be worth $80.8 billion passed through the port in 2023. Around 4,900 trucks, carrying around $28 billion in goods, must be rerouted due to the bridge collapse. It is the second busiest strategic roadway in the US for hazardous materials. These hazardous materials include diesel fuels. Did you know that diesel fuel is not permitted to be transported via tunnel? Fuel prices will rise, fertilizer prices will rise. The bridge was built to handle hazardous materials like propane, nitrogen, highly-flammable materials, large cargo materials, and more.

The timing could not have been worse for American agriculture. Baltimore is the largest entry point for all large agricultural and construction equipment, and this will have a ripple effect across US agriculture in general. It has been noted that this collapse occurred during the peak of planting season for Midwest region as the ground has begun to thaw. Our entire food supply is at risk.

The bridge helped to link major cities from Baltimore like Philadelphia, Washington, and New York. Over 15,000 people are employed directly through the port, and 139,000 have indirect jobs in connections. All this amounts to $3.3 billion in personal income. Analysts are saying this will cripple Baltimore, but it will send ripple effects throughout the entire US economy.” – Armstrong Economics, Mar. 26

• State-Sponsored Actors Compromising U.S. Critical Infrastructure – CISA
• Reinsurers, marine market to bear brunt of FSK bridge collapse – S&P Global
• Port of Baltimore indefinite closure a blow to city, state economy – Freight Waves
• Two Of Fastest U.S. Sealift Ships Trapped by Bridge Collapse – The Warzone
• Port Of Baltimore Led U.S. In Scores Of Exports, Imports In 2023 – Forbes
• Baltimore Union Fears Loss of 2,400 Jobs on Bridge Collapse – Bloomberg
• These Are the Ships Stuck Behind the Baltimore Key Bridge – gCaptain
• Lloyd’s: FSK disaster may be the largest-ever marine insurance payout – CNBC
• Baltimore channel clearing could take 14 days after starting – S&P Global
• East Coast Ports Face Challenge of Diverted Cargo, Drewry Says – gCaptain
• Biden Provides Maryland $60 Million for Key Bridge Emergency – gCaptain
• MD lawmakers promise financial support for workers affected by bridge – WAMU
• Navy to aid Baltimore’s FSK Bridge collapse recovery – Navy Times
• 4,700 containers aboard the Dali held 764 tons of hazardous materials – WSJ
• Gov. Moore: bridge collapse ‘massive impact’ on national economy – The Hill
• Container Ship “Potentially Atop High-Pressure Underwater Gas Line” – ZH
• Ongoing Live Updates on Bridge Collapse – WJZ-TV CBS Baltimore

Dali Container Ship Lost Power Before Hitting Bridge – WGOW Shipping, Mar. 26

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